The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-21
RASCALITY AND BRUTALITY
More About Jack Towards Infamous
Management of the Southern Prison.
How Convicts We're Inhumanly Punished for
Slight 0ffenses and Compelled to Give
Up Money Earned by Extra Work.

Up Money Earned By Extra Work.
The published disclosures of rascality and bru-
tality in Jack Towards infamous management
Of the Jeffersonvills penitentiary comprised lit
tle more than outline of the shocking story
revealed in the evidence ELECTED by the House
committee during its investigation of the affairs
Of the institution. The information that has
reached the public has given much milder as
pect to the condition of affairs than was really
revoasd in the pathetic stories OF the poor |
wretehes who have suffered from the outrageous |
and inhuman punishment to which they we're |
continually subjected by The constituencies men |
who have for years run the prison with high |
hand. '.Howard's shortage remarked Repre- |!
sentative Hobson, member of the investigating
committee: to Journal reporter, yesterday lis
IN itself but small matter compared with the
state Of things to which it points. 1t stands
merely as index to the dark history of his
mismauagement of the prison. The full mean
ing of this statement will be better understood
when all the facts become known to the public
However it is apparent to anyone that multi
sEde of abuses of the gravest character would
naturally arise from such reckless populations
- have been brought to light. In position
where his power was absolute the warden hest
Gated to do nothing that would bring money
within his grasp, and the manner in which much
OF this money was obtained is a feature of the
affair infinitely worse than the shortage itself"
The testimony of the convicts regarding the
modes of punishment was fully corroborated by
admissions from the prison guards themselves.
Fires, who was regarded by the committee as
about the best Of the guards. and who had been
employed in the prison for three years, admitted
that there little discrimination in the
amount of punishment given for various offenses.
He testified that the guards usually gave what
exer punishment they disposed to nfiict
He said that IL was frequently the case that the
warden would be found under the influence Of
iDtoxicants when a complaint would be made to
him that some person had violated rule, and
that his customary answer was, Punish the
The severest punish
ments were inflicted for such offenses as convicts
talking to each other, speaking to strangers.
receiving gifts from visitors, or 9th
or equally trivial acts. The usual
psnalty for these slight offenses was confinement
in dark cell from two to twenty days, with the
hands handcuffed on the outside of door, and q
diet Of corn bread and water, in addition to
which he was deprived of all of his privileges
such writing home once in two weeks, read
ing books, and using tobacco This punishment
also included the satisfaction of eight days
wages from the convicts earnings by extra work,
and as this was resource Of considerable rev.
enue to mercess and erasping warden there
was "a special lookout for some pretext upon
which the convicts with extra earnings could be
made to pay this unjust penalty. The practice
o nand cutting the convicts' hands while thrust
through The b.ss-of cell-door was sometimes
varied by str ring them up by the
thumbs or ~ ,sts, high enough to
barely allow the weight of the
body to rest on the floor They were released
from this position only at meal times and during
sleeping hours. The half ration of corn-bread
consisted of pece-as was proven by one of the
guards-not larger than two fingers. and was
made of unbolted meal and water, with little
salt, and often was burned into black and in
digesti5,e crisp. During this period of punish
ment they compelled to sleep a stone
foor without any covering, even in the coolest
weather, and in consequence many were badly
frozen. One of the guards, while on the wit
ness stand, admitted to Representative Hobson
that this punishment reduced the prisoners I'M
til they were weak that they could not re-
sumo work vigorously until after they had re-
cuperated their strength from more nourshing
diet. The best convicts, who had earned
small sums by their extra work, we're
among the most frequently punished,
and it really a disadvantage
Representative Hobson says, for a prisoner to
have any money saved, because it made him an
object OF special attention until it had been ex-
torted from him, either by penalty or by com
polling him to pay exorbitant prices for small
necessities They were allowed to purchase
nothing from outside the prison, ard for all
ticles were charged double prices. The Jeffe--
sonville Times, the paper owned by Howard.
and a sheet utterly valueless for its contents,
used as means of extortion. solicitor
would go through the prison urging the convicta
TO subscribe for the paper. and significantly ug-
costing that if they took it their prison life
would probably be made easier The subscrip
ton price was SIS year, and while it was
shown by the investigation that 400 of the
Donvicts were subscribers, there were not more
than fifty who received the paper.
Among the notable instances of unjustifable
brutality was the case of William O'Neil, who
died in 1881. The testimony showed that he
had complained to the prison physician, Dr.
Sherrod, that he was i'll and unable to perform
his task Shersea, wha was in tnxieated, refused
to give him any medicine, and declared tha
there was nothing the matter with him. ONei
was driven to his work by the guards, but was
was punished in the usual way being strung Vi
for ten days or more and dieted on corn breaC
and water He grew weak that he had moi
sufficient strength to stand, but his punishment
instead of being lightened, was made severer
md he was finally left with his hands handcuffet
through his cell door all night The next morn
ing he was found hanging in this position dead
William Skaggs, convict from Perry county
serving term Of five years. was for trivia
ofense, recently punished in the way fo
fourteen days, AID came from the dreaded Gag
fatally i'll, hasty consumption having ensued
as the members of the investigating COMMITTEES
believe, solely from the effect of sleeping thu
bare stone floor during his period of punish
from